End construction for rail cars



Sept. 23, 1941. A. G. DEAN 2,257,084

END CONSTRUCTION FOR RAIL CARS Filed Sept. 22, 1939 7 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR I Qlbert G. Dean.

ATTORNEY p 1941- A. G. DEAN 2,257,084

END CONSTRUCTION FOR RAIL CARS Filed Spt. 22, 1939 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEN TOR ATTORNE Y lberr GLDecm Sept. 23, 1941. A. G. DEAN 2,257,034

END CONSTRUCTION FOR RAIL CA'RS Filed Sept. 22, 1939 7 Sheets-sheaf. 3

M 4. 9 3 5 my. 1. 2 I3 v l V M H r m. m q. l l 7 (W v K n INVENTOR barfCLDecm.

'TTORNEY BY A v 3. u L i Q 3 4. z IIIIIIIII'I ||I||| HHHHI HHHI HHI IDH" hHHuHHHHflHL J |l n v v w t n. u. w

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Ill.

Sept. 23, 1941. A. G. DEAN END CONSTRUCTION FOR RAIL CARS 7 Sheets-Sheet4 Filed Sept. 22, 1939 INVENTOR \qlbert 6. Dean.

ATVYHUVEY END CONSTRUCTION FOR BAIL CARS Filed Sept. 22, 1959 7Sheets-Sheet 5 I N VEN TOR 'Qlbet't CI Dean.

ATTORNEY Sept. 23, 1941. A. G. DEAN nun CONSTRUCTION FQR RAIL CARS FiledSept. 22, 19555 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR.

' 3Q HlbertG. Dec m BY ATTORNEY Sept. 23, 1941. A. G. DEAN ENDCONSTRUCTION FOR RAIL CARS 7 Sheets-Shet '1 Filed Sept. 22, 1939INVEN'TOR Elbert (1 Dean.

' BY fif h ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 23,1941

AlbertG.Dean,Narberth,Pa.,assignortoEdward G. Budd ManufacturingCompany, Philadel- 41m, Pa, a corporation of Pennsylvania ApplicationSeptember 22, 1939, Serial No. 296,927

ztclaimle The invention relates to rail cars and morepartlcularlytheendwallstructureofsuchcars.

It is an object of the invention to provide anendwallstructureofthisclasswhichisoflight weight,vwhlch is readilyfabricated f sheet metal as a subassembly unit, and provi in subassemblywith marginal conformations and final assembly joint structures readilyadapting it for strong joinder in final assembly to the underframe, sidewalls and roof of the car body.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an end wall structureof this class which fully meets A. A. R. requirements for protectionagainst telescoping in case of collision and which achieves this objectwith a minimum of weight.

Other and further objects and advantages will become apparent from thefollowing detailed description when read in connection with the drawingsforming a part hereof.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of the end of a rail car towhich the invention hasbeen applied.

Fig. 2 is an elevation view of the end of the car, part of the left-handside being broken away .inner face of the plate is provided with top andbottom transverse reinforcements-secured thereto. The top reinforcementcomprises a flanged channel It, welded through its flanges, to the plateII and the bottom transverse member comprises the end sill ll which maycomprise an inwardly facing vertically deep channel secured through itsbottom wall to the plate It and,

where it overlaps them, to-the reinforcing outside members.

As shown'ln Figs. 1, 2 and 15, the end plate I! conforms in outerconfiguration to the end of the car body extending from side to side andfrom top to bottom and having a curved top portion. For

Figures 3 and 4 being on an enlarged scale, the

sections being taken substantially along the lines 3-4,44,55andHofFig.2,andFlg.5being an exploded view showing the end, side and bottomunit assemblies separated.

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view showing theconnection of the end subassembly to the underframe, the section beingtaken substantially along the line '|--1 of Fig. 6 and showing also aportion of the left-hand side Fig. 8 is aperspective view, parts beingshown broken away and in section showing the connection of the endsubassembly to the roof.

Fig. 9 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially on the line9-9 of Fig. 4, also showing the connection of the end subassembly roof.

Figs. 10 and 11 are enlarged fragmentary sectional views takenrespectively on the lines ll-ll and ll-I| of Fig.9.

Figs. 12, 13 and 14 are enlarged fragmentary sectional views takensubstantially on the line l2-l2,l3--l3,andllllof1=ig.2. Fig. 15 showsthe end subassembly unit in an inside elevational view, and

Fig. 16 shows on an enlarged scale said subassembly in a sideelevational view.

tothe convenience of manufacture this end plate is tral door openinglaterally each across the adjacent collision posts H out to the side ofthe car body and from top to bottom. Each of the lateral sections it andtheir associated posts II and reinforcements l2 may conveniently beassembled as separate subassemblies prior to joining them by thetransverse members It and It. Above the door opening across the top ofwhich the member ll extends, a separate section It connects the lateralsections ii and isioined thereto by lap joints indicated at l1, Fig. 14,in which the overlapp sections are welded together.

The collision posts II are extended down below the end sill It asclearly appears in Fig. 15 and this is also true of the verticalreinforcements l2 next to the collision posts. The location of thecollision posts II and stiifeners II on the outside of the car and endsill provides a clean appearance and maximum space in thevestibule.

7 To provide final assembly joint structures and to strengthen thesubassembly end lmit, the end sill I, which forms an important finalassembly joint structure between the end subassembly and 4 Fig. 17. is ahorizontal sectional view through the rest of the body is reinforced atits ends by nel M edges of the plate lll, see Fig. 15 to provide withsaid plate, angle section final assembly Joint structures through whichthe end sill is Joined 1 into the side wall structures in the finalassembly.

At the curved top and for some distance downwardlyat each side, theplate It is reinforced on its outer face by an angle 20 having one armthereof secured, as by welding, to the curved margin of the top of theplate and its other arm Q laterally extended to form a final assemblyJoint ass-mes the sill l4 and'to the bottom walls of the channels 1 II.The vertical facesformed by the bottoms of the channel I! are locatedinwardly of the lateral net cover plate 24 of them and the end plate IIare cut away to receive this channel. Within this deep channel istelescoped a shallower and narrower but longer channel 24, the side.walls of which are spot weldedto the side walls of the post and thechannel 18.

inwardly of the plate ll this shallower channel "is provided withlateral flanges 35 which form final assembly Joint parts for stronglysecuring the end wall subassembly to the roof structure.

structure for securing the end subassembly to the roof and the upperportions of the side walls of 1 the body.

The main vertical collision was H each com- :prise a longitudinallydeepbox section'structure of great strength. As clearly appears in Figs.2, 3, 4, 12 and 14 each post is built up of an outer laterally facingchannel 2|, an inner Z-section member 22, an angle section closing plate"for its outer face and an inner'flat zclosing plate 24. All of theseparts are strongly Joined together by spot welding in their overlappedregions and the posts are secured to the plate Ill by spot welding itsdouble thickness inner laterally extending flanges formed by closingplate 24 and the adjacent members to which it is welded, to the plate10. In their lower por- The structure so far described is in conditionfor final assembly to the remainder of the body structure and forms aunit which can be readily subbled in one part of the shop andtransported to another part for final assembly.

The following additional-structures may be as sembled with this endsubassembly although they do not necessarily form a part of thesubassembly and may be assembled therewith at final assembly. As shownin Figs. 3, 4 and 15, the inside of the plate It from the postslaterally to points adjacent the side end of the plate but terminatingshort thereof may be reinforced by a plurality of horizontally extendingvertically spaced members 26 of Z-section, these members servingprimarily to secure the inner facing, where such inner facing isprovided. In other cases, they may be. dispensed with. They are securedby spot welding one of the arms of the Z to the plate It. As shown inFig. 12 the inner ends of these Z-section members 38 overlap the tionsextending below the end sill, the posts" are of less depthlongitudinally, the outer closing plate- 23 may be bent rearwardly anddown- 1 wardly and flattened out to overlap the inner closing plate 24and the parts welded'together in this overlap region, as indicated inFigs. 2 and 4.

In'the lower portion, namely from the bottom of the end sill H upwardlya substantial distance above the end sill, they post is stronglyreinforced to take the heavy collision shocks to which it may besubjected in this region. v

As shown in Figs. 2 and 4, each of the lateral members 2! and 22 of theposts are reinforced in this region by plates 25' spot weldedthereto-and the posts are additiona ly strengthened and stabilized inthis regionby a series of longitudinally extending vertical spacedchannels 26,..21, 28, 28 and 30. ,The lower of these channels 28 and 2'lopposite the end sill are inverted with respectto each other with theirside walls almost in contact with each other and their side walls arewidened as compared with the other these channels are strongly spotwelded to the side walls of the posts; The-bottom channel 28 has aninclined bottom wall overlappin the inwardly and downwardly inclinedportion of the front cover plate 23 and is secured thereto by spotwelding.

Q The end subassembly is still further provided with final assemblyjoint structures for joining it to the roof,'indicated in Figs. 2, 4, 8,9, 15 and 16, by a horizontally extending inward extension from the topof each collision post, this extension being designated generally by thenumeral 22. This .inward extension may comprise the deep channel 33facing upwardly and having its side walls overlap the sides of thelateral faces 2| and 22 of a post H and strongly secured thereto .byspot welding in the overlap. The in channels, and in each case the sidewalls of posts H and a vertical extending angle section finish panel 31extends along the side of the doorway opening; this'panel has one arm ofthe angle overlap the oilset inner ends of the members 26 and is spotwelded thereto as shown at 88, while the other arm is formed with ashort lateral flange at 39, this flange being spot welded to thevertical margin of the plate It, at the doorway opening. The upper edgeof the vertical angle 31 may be secured to the channel member I! by anangle 40, see Fig. 16. a

At their outer ends the members 38 are interconnected by a verticalangle l0, one arm of which is connected to said members and the otherarm being in the vertical plane of the bottom wall of the channel It atthe adjacent end of the end sill and forming with the edge of the plateIll an angular final assembly joint structure in vertical extension ofthe similar Joint structure at each end of the end sill.

The lateral upper portions of the plate Ill above the upper maintransverse member l3 may'also be provided with short verticalreinforcements 4| which may comprise, asshown, flanged channel membersspot welded to the plate Ill. J

Between the posts H at the top and secured to them and to the plate Illmay be provided a generally box section structure for supportingthedia'phragm face plate in this region. This box section structure, asindicated in Fig. 13, may comprise the flanged channel member 42 facingoutwardly and having its flanges in the plane of the outer faces oi!vthe posts ll. At the ends, this channel is connected to the posts byplates 48 which are welded to the flanges of the channel and to theflanges of the posts. The other elements of thexbox section comprise topand bottom angles 44 and 45 which are welded respectively to the top andbottom walls of the channel 42 and through lateral arms to the plate II, the plate. l0 itself forming the inner face of the box. The channel42 of this box as shown in Fig. 14 is further secured to the inner sidesof the posts by'angles 4| and the box section structure is reinforcedadjacent the central portion by two spaced diaphragm ll flanged in theirmargins and secured through these flanges to the four sides of the box,see Figs. 13 and 14.

Below the box formed by the members l2, l4 and It may be providedanother transversely extending box section structure formed by an angle48 having'its arms flan ed laterally and secured respectively to the btom of the channel 42 and the plate ll. This second box may be uti-,

I each collision post II extending below the end sill andthe similardownwardly extending portion of the adJacent flanged channel reinforcingmember I! and the bottom wall of the end sill are interbraced in theflnal assembly by an inwardly facing vertically deepchannel II. Thischannel has the ends of its bottom wall overlap the post and theadjacent member 42 and its top side wall overlaps the bottom side wallof the channel sill l4 and is Joined to these parts in the overlaps asby spot welding.

The end subassembly unit is strongly tied into the longitudinal membersof the underframe-in the final assembly asshown in Figures 5, 6 and 7 soas to transmit collision shocks from the end structure into theunderframe. To this end the underframe may be provided with two spacedcentral main composite longitudinal columnar members 50 and twocomposite box section latextending between the posts II and having aflat tures, as is shown in Figure l, are brought inso that each of theiroutwardly facing fl'anged channel end posts l'l nests within the angleformed by a lateral margin of the plate Ill and the'bottom wall of thechannel I I at the end of the end sill and the arm of the angle llconnecting the outer end of the Z-section members 30, and the parts arestrongly secured together in this region of overlap'by welding themargin of the plate it of the, end subassembly to the front side wall ofthe channel I! and by welding the bottom wall of the channel II and saidarm of the angle ll to the bottom wall of the. post channel 81.

In the .region of theroof subassembly which extends from the top chordat ll ofthe side wall trusses (Figures' 1 and 2), the end of the roofpaneling as ll (Figures 14 and 1-3) overlaps the outwardly extending armof the angle 20 extending around the top margin of the end subassemblyin the roof overlap region and is secured thereto by spot welding.

At the same time, the tops of the collision posts are strongly tied intothe roof structure by having the lateral flanges II of the channels 34of the end subassembly overlap lateral flanges '0 formed on a reinforcedsection of the roof structure adjacent the end of the roof. This Jointis shown in detail in Figures 4, 8, 9, 10 and ii.

From these figures, it will be seen that the roof is built-up oftransverse carlines iii of flanged channel cross-section andan endcarline I! of Z-section, these carlines being strongly connected throughplates 64 and 64' to a longitudinally corrugated roof sheathing 63 spotwelded thereto between the corrugations. By reference to'Figures 8, 9and 10 it will be seen that the corrugated sheathing is reinforced forsome distance inwardly from the end in regions on both sides of theposts II by plates 64 extending inwardly over several carlines andstrongly spot welded to the corrugations and to the carlines. All ofthese plates are connected to a longitudinally short plate 64' extendingfrom side to side of the roof structure and forming with the end -marginof the corrugated sheathing the double thickness flange 59 through whichthe angle II of the end wall subassembly another of Z-section numbered81, and a flat' plate. which is spot welded to the lower'side.

wall of the channel It and the lower laterally extending armof theZ-section member 61, while the upper arms of the members I! and 66 arespot welded to the outer purline structure. The

plate '8 is shown in Figure 9 as made of several sections which abuteach other longitudinally but .this is merely done for convenience ofmanufacture. It is obvious that the plate could be one continuous plateextending in from the end of the roof over several carllnesas shown inFigure 9. The members it and 81 are discontinuous to allow the passageof the first channelsectlon carline '8! without a break from side toside.

It is to the double thickness flanges formed by the members N and 61 andplate 68, which form the inner purline structure, that the flanges ll ofthe end subassembly are flnal assembly. I

It is seen that the end structure so described is very readily assembledin subassembly and to the rest of the car structure in flnal assemblyflrmly secured in and that it is fabricated substantially in'whole bylight-gauge sheet metal members-which are Joined together by spotwelding. The heavy posts of the end subassembly are strongly tied intothe reinforced central portion of the underframe and into the heavilyreinforced centralportionof the roof so that the end structure asdescribed forms a very strong anti-telescoping by spaced longitudinallydeep vertical collision underframe members 5| against both of whichthese castings abut.

In Fig. 17 is shown a slightly modified construction of car and wall.Similar elements are referred to by similar reference characters. Theend sill l4, posts II and reinforcing channels correspond to thepreferred form. The end plate It has no inner reinforcements from theend sill H to the height of the doorway opening, making thisconstruction particularly desirable at the vestibule end of a car togive a roomy vestibule. i

At one side of the doorway opening, the end plate I0 is formed with anoutwardly extending flange II, which is stiffened and smoothed in itsmargin by a Dutch bend 12. Between this outwardly extending flange andthe adjacent post ll. there is thus provided a pocket or recess I3 whichmay conveniently house a curtain roll 1.4 carrying the curtain forclosing the space between the side of the end door in one car and theend door on the next adjacent car.

On the other side of the doorway, the edge of the plate III is extendedinwardly beyond the adjacent post H some distance and is also providedin its margin with a Dutch bend 15.

- -The underframalincluding the connections to theend wall constructionclaimed herein, whereby collisionshocks against the end of the car aretransmitted into the underframe structure and the car body in general isnot claimed herein but is fully disclosedand claimed in applicant's Icopending application Serial No. 296,026, filed of even date.

While the specific embodiment of the inven- 1 tion which has beendescribed herein has proved very eflicient in practice, it will beunderstood by those skilled in this art that changes and modificationsmay be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventionas expressed in the claims appended hereto.

What I claim is:

1. An end wall construction for rail cars comprising a fiat plateextending from side to side a and from top to bottom of the car body, atransverse end sill of inwardly facing channel section secured to thebottom of said plate, a door opening in the central lower portion ofsaid plate, a

* transverse reinforcementfor said plate above the doorway opening, andvertical collision posts 1 secured to the outside face of the plate forthe 3 full height thereof.

2. An end wall subassembly for rail cars comprising a flat plate of thefull height of the car i reinforced on its outer side by verticalcollision posts secured thereto on opposite sides of a doorcured to theoutside face of the plate laterally of said posts, and on its innerside, in its lower region, by an end sill extending transversely of thelower portion of the plate and secured thereto and in its .upper region,by a transverse member secured thereto above the doorway opening.

3.. An end wall subassembly for rail cars comprising a flat platereinforced on its outer side posts and by additional members ofshallower section welded to the plate to form box sections therewith.and on its inner side by an end'sill of channel section secured to theplate through its bottom wall and in its upper region by a transverseflanged channel member secured to the plate through its flanges. Y

4.. An end wall subassembly for rail cars, comprising a flat plateextending from side to side and from top to bottom of the car body, anend sill secured tothe inside face of said plate and having an end wallterminating short of the side edge of the plate to form therewith anangle section final assembly joint to receive an end post of the sidesubassembly for securement thereto.

5. An end wall subassembly unit for rail cars comprising a flat plateforming a main shear member of said end wall extending from side to sideand from top to bottom of the car body and having a transversely roundedtop margin, said plate having secured to one face thereof vertical doorposts extending from top to bottom and provided at the top and bottomwith flnalassembly joint formations for securement to the roof andunderframe, respectively, said. plate having secured to its rounded topmargin and continuing downwardly into the vertical side margin an anglesection member having an arm thereof extending longitudinally to overlapand form a final assembly Joint with a roof structure.

6. An end wall construction for rail cars comhaving one arm secured totheplate and the other arm extending laterally, and .a roof structureincluding reinforced longitudinally corrugated sheathing overlappingsaid other arm and secured thereto.

7. An end wall subassembly comprising a fiat plateextending from side toside and top to bottom of the car. body, an inwardly. facing channelsection end sill secured to the lower margin of said plate, and forminga final assembly Joint structure for securing the end wall to theunderframe, the end sill terminating short of the sides of the plate andforming therewith an angle section final assembly joint to receive anend post of a side subassembly for securement'thereto.

8. An end wall subassembly unit comprising a flat plate extending from acentral door opening laterally to the side of the car body and from.

top to bottom of the car body, and a longitudinally deep collision posthaving opposed lateral flanges and extending from top to bottom of saidplate adjacent its inner margin, overlapping a face thereof and securedthereto in subassembly through both said flanges.

9. An end subassembly unit comprising a flat plate extending from acentral door opening laterally to the side of the car body and from topto bottom, a longitudinally deep collision post having opposed lateralflanges and extending at least the height of said plate and securedthereto in subassembly adjacent its inner margin through both saidflanges and at least one vertical reinforcing member secured to saidplate laterally of said post.

10. An end wall construction for rail cars comprising a flat end wallplate extending from forcements attached thereto including said channel,angular section joint structures for securement to the side walls of thebody in two planes, and the top margin of the plate being reinforced byan angle section member extending from side to side and terminatingsubstantially at the angular formations at the sides, said angle sectionmember overlapping and being secured to the roof structure.

11. An end wall subassembly unit for rail cars, comprising a collisionpost, and an end plate overlapping the inner face of said post andsecured thereto and extending laterally to the adjacent side and roofportions and formed in its lateral margins with flnal assembly jointformations for securement in final assembly to the side and roofstructures. 1

12. An end wall construction for rail carsv including a flat end wallplate extending from side to side and from top to bottom of the car bodyand having a doorway opening in the central portion thereof, verticaldoor posts secured to the outer face of said plate and extending fromtop to bottom thereof, vertically spaced angular members secured to theinner face of said plate and extending horizontally from adjacent thedoorway opening, where they are in overlapping relation to said doorposts, to

doorway opening therethrough, an end sill secured to the inside face ofthe plate and posts, connections between the end sill and-the mainlongitudinal members of the underframe in the region of the posts andbetween the posts, a reinforced roof end structure, and inwardextensions having one end thereof telescoped within the tops of theposts and secured thereto and the other end thereof overlapping alongitudinal member of said reinforced roof and secured thereto.

16. An end wall structure for rail cars including an end sill, alongitudinally deep, as compared with its width, vertically extendingcollision post of box cross section overlapping the outer face of theend sill and secured thereto,

substantially to the adjacent side margin of the plate, and an angularfinish panel connecting the inner ends of said members and the verticalmargin of the plate in the doorway opening.

13. An end wall construction for rail cars including a flat end wallplate extending from top to bottom and from side to side of the car bodyand having a doorway opening in its central portion, longitudinally deepcollision posts flanking said opening and secured to the outer .face ofthe plate and extending above the doorway opening, and an angular memberextending between the outer portions of said posts above the doorwayopening and secured thereto to form a part of a diaphragm face platesupporting strucure.

14. An end wall construction for rail cars including a flat end wallplate extending from top to bottom and from side to side of the body andhaving a doorway opening in its dentral portion, longitudinally deepcollision posts flanking said opening and secured to the outer face ofsaid plate and extending above the doorway opening, a reinforcingstructure extending between the posts above the doorway opening andsecured thereto and to the outer face of the plate and a downwardly andoutwardly inclined plate interconnecting the posts and plate aboveouterface of said plate on opposite sides of a the lower end portion of saidpost overlapping the outer face of the end sill and extending from saidend sill upwardly a distance well above said sill and being provided inthis region with vertical reinforcing members overlapping and secured tothe 'longitudinally deep side walls and spaced longitudinally extendingmembers bridging and secured to the side walls of the box cross-section.

17. In a rail car, a vertical end collision post built up intolongitudinally deep box cross sectionby flanged side members and innerand outer cover plates overlapping the flanges of said side members andsecured thereto, the lower end of the side members being cut away toincline inwardly and downwardly and the outer cover being extended alongsaid incline to direct overlapping engagement with the inner cover plateand secured thereto in said overlap.

18. In a rail car end structure, a post according to claim 17 in which achannel section reinforcing member extending longitudinally of the posthas a bottom inclined wall lapping the inclined wall of the outer coverplate and secured thereto and its side walls lapping the side members ofthe posts and secured thereto.

19. A rail car end construction, including a flat end plate extendingfrom side to side and from top to bottom of the car body and having adoorway opening in the central portion thereof, collision posts securedto the outside face of the plate at opposite sides of the doorwayopening, the margin of the plate-on one side of the doorway openingbeing flanged outwardly to form a pocket between the post and saidmarginal flange arranged to receive a curtain roll.

20. A rail car end construction according to claim 19 in which the edgeof said flange is formed with a Dutch bend to stiffen it and provide asmooth edge.

21. A rail car construction according to claim 19 in which the verticalmargin of the plate on the opposite side of the doorway opening from topto bottom of the body. the plate formed centrally with a doorwayopening, vertical collision posts flanking the doorway opening andsecured to said plate, the vertical margins of the plate extendingbeyond the door posts to form the margins of the doorway opening andbeing bent back flat upon themselves to form smooth reinforced margins.

ALBERT G. DEAN.

